Heart disease in pregnancy on the rise

There has been an increase in previously undetected cases of cardiac disease among pregnant women, an expert has claimed.

Dr Lorna Swan, clinical lead for adult congenital heart disease at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, revealed that cardiac disease is the most common cause of death during pregnancy.

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Services tend to focus on women whose heart condition has already been diagnosed prior to getting pregnant, but Dr Swan explained that the rise in deaths during pregnancy over the last 30 years has largely been due to new cases of previously undetected heart disease.

Speaking at the annual world congress of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, she said: 'One of the concerning trends is the number of sudden cardiac deaths which are still unexplained, but may be associated with the rise in obesity.

'We need to look at how we deliver effective screening of seemingly well pregnant women and increase awareness of cardiac disease.'

Factors other than obesity that may increase a woman's risk of heart disease in pregnancy include age, family history, diabetes, ethnicity and tobacco use.

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